Gluten Free Homemade Pesto with Pork Sausage and Zucchini Zoodles

Is your mouth watering from my Gluten Free Homemade Pesto with Sausage and Zucchini Zoodles? If not, I will say it, YOU ARE NOT HUMAN!

I know what you are thinking, I have not posted a NEW recipe in a while and you are absolutely right; shame on me. BUT to my defense, I have been super busy with work, graduate military school, life, kids, pregnancy, CrossFit, etc so please cut me some slack. I know I say this a lot but I really can’t wait for the day where I can blog full-time and dedicate the majority of my day helping and encouraging others. I have a few ideas for the future of this blog. Think meal plans, homemade baby food recipes and 30 day workout plans to shred those extra dreaded babyweight lbs. My goal is to create these plans and workouts that can help you all navigate through this crazy roller coaster we call life. Does that sound like something you would be interested in? Let me know, I would love your feedback. So please if you like this site, stay tuned! Spread the word, share my recipes with your friends and family, and most of all encourage others to lead a healthy life because by YOU leading by example YOU are showing others what is POSSIBLE. So until I can devote all the hours in my busy day to this site and what it stands for, like I tell me kids, “You get what you get and you don’t get upset.”

Having that said and to make up for my long hiatus I knew I had to post an amazing, out of this world, knock your socks off kind of recipe. THIS very recipe, my Gluten Free Homemade Pesto with Pork Sausage and Zucchini Zoodles, is all THAT and more! I am absolutely head over heals about it. It is made with simple, fresh ingredients and yet it so satisfying. When I made this meal the first time, I actually got mad at my husband for eating thirds and leaving no leftovers for the following day for lunch. He responded with “I am so sorry your food is that good that I want to keep eating it.” How could I get mad at him after that comment?!?!

So anyway, try it and see. I know this recipe is not 100% Paleo (because of the cheese), but personally I think you got to live a little. Cheese (good quality cheese made with REAL ingredients) is ok for you once in a while. The best part about this dish (besides the cheese) is the zucchini zoodles. You will not miss the pasta; I can promise you that. Why feel guilty when you just stuffed your face eating 2-3 zucchini in 1 sitting? Not me!

You will not miss the pasta after you try this homemade pesto sauce over zucchini noodles.

Author: Our Full Plate

Recipe type: Paleo

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

5 medium sized zucchini, washed and ends chopped off

1 lb of pork sausage

1 cup of cherry tomatoes, washed and cut into quarters

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup of chicken broth

¼ cup of Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese

¼ cup of olive oil

4-5 cups of fresh basil

½ teaspoon of salt

Instructions

Ok I always start by making my zoodles or zucchini "zoodles." Now if you don't have a vegetable spiral slicer like I do, don't fret because you can still make this recipe. All you have to do is chop your zucchini thin enough to make ¼ to ½ in thick pieces. Before the spiral slicer, I used my mandolin cutter and set it on the julienne setting. That works too. Again if you don't own one of those either, you can channel in your inner sous chef and practice your knife skills. This should take you about 5-8 minutes.

Once you have your zucchini cut, set it aside and prepare the other veggies. Wash and cut your tomatoes for later use. Also peel your garlic.

Now get ready to brown your pork sausage. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your pan and over medium heat, brown your sausage breaking it up with a wooden spoon until most of the pink goes away and is cooked through. Drain the sausage and set aside, keeping the oil and fat left from the sausage in the pan.

Over medium heat in the same pan saute your chopped tomato with your minced garlic. You might need to add a smidge more of olive oil or fat of your choice if the sausage was not fatty. I usually cook it down for about a few minutes until the tomatoes are a little charred. Once they are cooked, I add the chicken broth and scrape the brown bits left on the pan.

It is time now to add your zoodles. Add them to your pan with the tomatoes, garlic, and broth. Stir occasionally on low to medium heat.

While your zoodles are cooking, it is time to make your homemade pesto. All you have to do is add all your basil, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, ¼ cup of olive oil and salt to the food processor and blend. After a minute, you should see a beautiful green and aromatic paste.

Go back to your zoodles that have been cooking and add your pesto and cooked pork sausage and now on low heat, stir, and cover for about 5-8 more minutes until the pesto and pork sausage get warm.

Serve, eat, devour and repeat. I promise you will repeat. As I mentioned above, my husband distinctly ate not seconds but thirds. I actually got mad at him for eating too much. He retorted with "I am sorry for thinking your food is so good that I want to keep eating it." Smarty Pants 🙂 I learned I just have to double this recipe the next time I make it.

Sauteing the tomatos and minced garlic in the same pan I used to brown my pork sausage

Added 1/2 cup of chicken broth to deglaze the pan and scrape what was left from browning the sausage. This will also lighten up the pesto sauce when added.

Added the perfectly spiraled and raw zucchini zoodles to the tomato and garlic sauce. Cook on low while you make the homemade pesto sauce

While your zoodles are cooking, it is now time to make the pesto. How beautiful is the contrast of colors in the parmigiano reggiano cheese and fresh basil?

Add remainder of the olive oil, salt and pepper to the basil and cheese and hit blend in your food processor

Add the homemade pesto paste and browned pork sausage to the pan that has been sauteing your zoodles. Stir on low until warm.

The final product… My Gluten Free Homemade Pesto with Sausage and Zucchini Zoodles

Love the richness and complexity the pesto gives this dish

Here is a close up of the dish. What do you think? Thanks to this recipe, I am now obsessed with making zoodles 24/7

So who is running out and purchasing their own Spiral Vegetable Slicer? Chances are you are similar to me and need another kitchen appliance like you need another hole in your head, but I will be the first to tell you it is so worth it. And for less than $30, it’s practically highway robbery. This is the one I ordered. Again you can always use a Mandolin Slicer as well. This is the one I have. Good luck! My next goal is to grow my own zucchini. There is always next year…

Also would love your feedback about what I mentioned above about the future of this blog. What do you need to help you not only cook healthy foods but make the time to workout despite our hectic schedules? What other topics would you like to see on this site? The floor is yours…

So I fed this recipe to my non-Paleo husband and he actually loved it! He had two servings and both over your cauliflower rice. He said as long as he doesn’t have to sacrifice in flavor, he’ll eat Paleo all day long! A win for me!

I’ve made this several times and it is hands down the best paleo snack ever! Super versatile, super easy, and best of all paleo approved, toddler approved (super easy for them to help scoop all those dry infredients, we use a 1/4 cup so there are lots and lots of turns) and infantryman approved!!!